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Tuesday, April 3, 2012

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Apr 4th 2012, 00:54

By Shawn S. Lealos, Yahoo! Contributor Network

The Dallas Cowboys re-signed Orlando Scandrick to an extension before the 2011 NFL season. They signed Brandon Carr to a huge contract in this offseason, while releasing Terence Newman. They also have Mike Jenkins for one more year but this will be his last chance to prove he belongs on the team in the future. Finally, the Cowboys also brought in safety Brodney Poole for a one-year deal and added Dan Conner to the linebacker corps.

Mike Jenkins
Wikimedia Commons

That makes the 2012 NFL Draft one that can't ignore the defensive just because they are set for 2012. There also aren't many college football teams better than the Alabama Crimson Tide when it comes to choosing a defender in the upcoming NFL Draft.

Dallas invited three of the Crimson Tide's defenders to visit with the team this week as part of the "top 30" personal visits leading into the draft. Those players included cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick, safety Mark Barron and outside linebacker Courtney Upshaw.

Dre Kirkpatrick

Kirkpatrick is the second best cornerback coming into the NFL in 2012, following the LSU Tiger's Morris Claiborne. He is powerful and physical, standing 6-3 and 192 pounds. Over his three year college career, Kirkpatrick had 65 tackles and three interceptions. The big problem he faces is his zone coverage, since he played man at Alabama. He also had a rough start in 2012 but picked it up through the rest of the year.

Mark Barron

While Brodney Poole has the chance to win the future safety position in 2012, he has to earn it. Mark Barron is a four-year safety for Alabama that finished his career with 235 tackles and 12 interceptions over his career. He is arguably the top safety coming out in the 2012 NFL Draft with strength, good instincts and great hands. His main downfall is that he is not a consistent tackler based on his problems changing directions.

Courtney Upshaw

Also a top rated prospect, Courtney Upshaw remains one of the top linebackers coming out in 2012. He finished his four-year career at Alabama with 134 tackles, 16.5 sacks and one interception. At 6-2, 273 pounds, he gets off low at the line and is a solid pass rusher, something Dallas needs. He played in the 3-4 at Alabama, which makes him valuable for a team like Dallas. While Kirkpatrick will probably be gone when Dallas comes up, Upshaw would be a perfect option.

Author Shawn S. Lealos has a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Oklahoma (2000) and has been a Dallas Cowboys' fan since he was a child. His favorite players range from Roger Staubach and Tony Dorsett to the Triplets of the 90s and he enjoys talking about all Cowboys' related news, good or bad

Source: ESPN

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